Aston Villa fixture thrown into huge doubt after ’emergency’ Thursday development
Aston Villa look set for a change to their fixture list, with a major meeting to take place in the coming days.
Villa Park finally saw a victory this season on Thursday, when Villa beat Bologna 1-0 courtesy of a first-half goal from John McGinn.
It was not a perfect performance from Unai Emery’s side, with Ollie Watkins missing a penalty in the second half, but the Spaniard will be happy to have finally got a win on the board.
Morgan Rogers was ironically cheered by the Villa fans for completing a pass, after what was another poor performance from the 23-year-old.
But Harvey Elliott was praised for his impact against Bologna, with the England youth international continuing the positive start to his career at Villa Park.
Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture thrown into doubt amid UEFA vote
Emery is under growing pressure at Villa after a terrible start to the season, but Thursday’s win has likely alleviated some of those talks for the time being.
The Europa League will be key for the Spaniard’s future if he is to stay at Villa Park past this season, with the 53-year-old having won it four times previously.
But one element of Villa’s European campaign is already in doubt, with The Times reporting on Friday that UEFA are set to vote next week on a decision that would see Israel suspended from its competitions.
| Villa – Europa League | Date |
| Feyenoord (A) | 2 Oct |
| Go Ahead Eagles (A) | 23 Oct |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (H) | 6 Nov |
| Young Boys (H) | 27 Nov |
| Basel (A) | 11 Dec |
| Fenerbahce (A) | 22 Jan |
| RB Salzburg (H) | 29 Jan |
Most executive committee members are thought to be in favour of a ban, after the United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Russia have been suspended from European competition since it invaded Ukraine in 2022, with the majority of committee members and federations favouring similar action in this case.
The only Israeli side involved in Europe, Maccabi Tel Aviv, are due to travel to Villa Park on 6 November, and encountered protests when they played Greek side PAOK on Wednesday.
What can Villa expect to happen?
If, as expected, Israel is suspended from European competition next week, Villa’s fixture against Maccabi Tel Aviv will be void.
According to Article 29.03 of UEFA’s Europa League regulations, “any club that has not been able to play its scheduled match against a disqualified/withdrawn club is awarded the average number of points earned by all clubs in its same seeding pot against the clubs in the same pot as that disqualified/withdrawn club”.
As Villa were set to play Maccabi Tel Aviv at home, the Villans will be awarded the average number of points earned by clubs in the same pot when playing away.
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